


Going the Distance

by Tiny_Tyrant



Category: Hercules (1997), One Piece
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Disney, M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-06-03 15:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6616021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiny_Tyrant/pseuds/Tiny_Tyrant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Hercules inspired crossover featuring some of the main cast of One Piece. Roronoa Zoro plays the part of Hercules and Sanji is Meg… in a sense. Some of the crew also appears in various roles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One Last Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Just to clarify, I will use other names for some of the characters but hopefully they're clear enough to follow. These names will be used interchangeably with their canon name. However, I still wanted to make sure it's clear, so:
> 
> Zorocles = Roronoa Zoro (as the role of Hercules)  
> Usopptetes = Usopp (as the role of Phil/Philatetes)  
> Choppersus = Chopper (as the role of Pegasus)
> 
> These are the only names I've given alternate versions of for now and, whilst I don't know if I'll continue this, I'll probably edit this note or make amendments on future notes.

“Finally! I can get a chance to prove myself.” Zorocles punched the air in excitement. After months of arduous and risky training, he'd finally breezed through the various contraptions his mentor had made. Each of which were very creative forms of murder for ordinary folk.

“Yeah yeah, you're likely to get yourself killed on the first day. You know that don't you? I'm getting a serious case of 'I-can't-watch-this-idiot-die'-itus,” Usopptetes complained. “And you've broken apart my assault course, what happens if I get some other brat wanting to train to be the next Achilles, huh? Not like it'd happen but still!”

“Are you kidding me? I'm gonna be great! I won't die on the first day.” Zoro slapped his shoulder, making the satyr stagger whilst he regained his balance. “Come on, Usopp, we're not going to save anyone if we don't get out there.” He plucked Usopp up by the nose and threw him on the back of Choppersus.

“Come on Chopper, we've got lives to save.” Zoro hopped on the winged reindeer's back and they soared into the air.

Our heroes watched the scenery pass them by until they heard a shrill scream from the forest below. Zoro guided Choppersus to land nearby. He pushed through the trees and looked about.

Usopp sat down on a boulder and sighed. Try as he might, he just couldn't get the man a sense of direction. Apparently it was impossible to train that into him, even with Usopp's legendary training skills.

Zoro looped around the area a few times before Usopptetes cleared his throat and pointed to the only direction he hadn't tried yet, the one towards a clearing with a very large serpent with a blonde in its coils at the foot of a small waterfall.

“Oh, I knew that,” Zoro muttered.

He surveys the scene before him and finds the blonde lady is arguing with the giant snake like they aren't caught in the coils at all. The blonde growled below her breath threateningly at the snake. Zoro couldn't understand what the snake was saying back to the blonde but he could hear very angry hissing. This struck Zorocles as a very stupid idea.

Thinking it was now or never, Zoro strode into the clearing and announced his arrival.

“Pardon me, but are you a damsel in distress?” he asked the blonde.

“Who the fuck are you calling a damsel, country boy? I'll let you off since you're a moss-haired cyclops but can't you even tell from my voice?” the blond fired back in, yes, a very masculine voice. Now that the face was angled towards him, he could see a hint of stubble on the man's chin and upper lip. Okay, Zoro had to admit he wasn't the most feminine looking person.

“Whatever, you're clearly in distress!” Zoro gestured to the snake.

The blond looked at him with a flat look and then he side-eyed the snake. “Do I look distressed to you?” he asked the snake. The serpent remained silent but shook its head just once. “Get your eye tested, cyclops. I'm fine now go crawl under a bridge or something!”

“I'm not a troll, asshole,” Zoro growled, this blond was really getting on his nerves.

“No? Well isn't that where moss grows? Move along, I've got this under contro-” He was interrupted by the snake punching one of its fangs through his shoulder. Venom dripped from the wound and the blond looked pretty woozy. “Shitty snake…” he slurred.

“That's definitely distress now, no matter how brave you're acting,” Zoro reasoned.

“Fuck off… this happensss… all the time,” the blond argued, his words had completely lost all bite though. He fell limp in the snake's coils, no longer conscious.

Zoro sighed and unsheathed his swords, facing up to the snake. The serpent tightened its hold on the blond and moved him in front of the rest of its body.

“Oh no, you're not gonna use him as a shield you bastard,” Zoro growled.

He tried to move to the side of the creature but it just moved the unconscious blond between them again. With a snarl of frustration, Zoro slashed at the coil holding the blond, holding back his strength to cut shallowly into the beast's body. It wasn't enough to damage the scales, though there was a scuffed mark along where Zoro had tried to slice it. The serpent was barely affected by the blow and quickly poised itself to strike with its fangs. Zoro only just managed to dive out of its path, only to be hit soon after by a heavy tail.

Zoro only redoubled his efforts to land a decent hit on the snake, managing to force the snake to abandon holding onto its hostage. The blond was dropped into the shallow water. Whilst Zoro wanted to make sure he was okay, he wasn't given enough opportunity to stand on his own two feet, let alone worry about someone else. A heavy tail slam pinned him to the floor and he only just managed to push the beast off in time to avoid being injected with venom. He was being pushed around by the snake.

“Oh for the Gods' sake, use your head!” Usopp yelled at him, getting fed up of seeing Zorocles being thrown around by the serpent. It was moving around for another strike at Zoro when the satyr yelled at him.

Zoro heaved his body up off the rock he'd been slammed into. “Use my head, eh?” he mused aloud to himself before smirking. In the corner of his eye, he saw the blond man lurching out of the water with a gasp. Feeling relieved of that concern, he charged headfirst at the serpent. No, he literally did that. Just straight up charged at the serpent.

The blond gawked in shock as the would-be hero ran at the snake at great speed. Zoro's head connected just beneath the snake's jaw and he could hear a sickening snap just after the impact. Wincing, he watched as the snake's body was caught by tree branches before most of those gave way and dumped the body on the floor.

Well shit… he hadn't expected the wannabe to be so strong. He turned his head to see Zoro approaching him, offering him his hand to help him up.

“Maybe you're not as much of a country boy as I thought. The name is Sanji.” He stood, ignoring the hand. He looked down at himself and sighed as he looked around at the water. “That's another dress ruined and… aha… yep that's ruined too.” He plucked out a very sodden wig from the water before tossing it over his shoulder, abandoning it.

He wandered away from the water and Zoro followed after him. “I could have dealt with it a lot sooner if you had been more co-operative!” Zoro argued with him.

“I could have dealt with it just fine if you hadn't distracted me you asshat!” Sanji fired back, following it up with a bruising kick to Zoro's chest. He flew back into the boulder that Usopptetes and Choppersus had been hiding behind.

“Hey, watch where you're aiming the idiot next time!” Usopp yelled at him. Sanji turned his attention to Usopp, glaring at him. “F-Forget I said anything!”

“Huh, a satyr? Couldn't find any hot chicks so you're following this idiot around?” Sanji questioned.

“Zorocles,” Zoro interrupted, rubbing at the footprint on his chest-plate.

“I'll have you know that where I come from there are a thousand hot chicks and it's home to the most beautiful woman of all,” Usopp lied. Sanji blinked at him for a moment before shaking his head.

“Don't let Aphrodite hear you saying that, you know how jealous she gets,” he quipped.

Zoro pushed himself back to his feet and looked Sanji over. “…Okay, maybe you could have handled that snake on your own. You still might have got hurt though!”

Sanji shrugged. “I'm sure I'll have handled it.”

He looked down at his sodden clothes again and sighed, reaching in to the hollow of a tree and retrieved a bundle of robes from within. Without any warning, he stripped out of the dress and Zoro averted his eyes embarrassedly. Sanji glanced over his shoulder at the man and smirked.

“What? You've never seen another man's body before? Here's a tip for you moss-brain, my face is up here,” he drawled mockingly. Zoro glared at him, turning a shade darker in the face. Sanji laughed as he pulled on his dry robes. The cut of them was much shorter and more masculine. Zoro finally noticed the sturdy looking sandals the other man was wearing. If Zoro had to guess, the leather probably had a layer of steel in between for strength.

“Are you done checking me out?” Sanji looked smug as he pinned his robe in place..

“Are those reinforced?” Zoro pointed to Sanji's sandals. Sanji glanced down as he gestured and he chuckled as an idea struck him.

“Do you want to find out, cyclops?” The tone was unmistakeably challenging and Zoro felt a thrill of excitement. He grinned and unsheathed his swords, leaving one on his hip. “Hey Wonder-Boy, what's with the other sword?”

“If you're strong enough, you'll find out,” Zoro practically purred as he moved into his stance.

They grinned at each other before lauching into an intricate dance of attacks and evasion. Zoro would frequently stop Sanji's kicks with the flats of his blades and, whilst he preferred to evade Zoro's attacks, Sanji managed to block some of Zoro's strikes. Zoro created some distance between them and was about to raise a sword to his mouth but Usopp dove between them.

“Hey, you know what's a great idea? Not skewering the damsel in distress… Wait a minute… If you were totally fine with the snake and, frankly, I'm not going to comment on the crossdressing…” Usopp eyed Sanji but the blond suddenly found the canopy of trees very interesting. “Then who was the one who screamed?” He stared Sanji down. He was still looking up at the trees but now he was shifting his weight awkwardly. When he glanced back at Usopp, the satyr was still staring at him.

“I… uh… have no idea what you're talking about?” he tried.

The satyr gave him a flat look. “I'm not buying that. Spill.”

“Okay! Okay… There may or may not have been a giant moth that startled me, probably,” he admitted reluctantly. Zoro and Usopp nearly fall over from laughing so hard.

“You scream like a girl!” Usopp guffawed.

“You would too if you suddenly had a face full of big-ass fucking bug!” Try as he might, his defence wasn't making the pair laugh any less.

“Bugs are great, I used to raise them as a kid.” Usopp grinned at the man. Zoro was clutching at his sides, trying his best not to erupt into another round of snorting laughter.

Sanji visibly cringed. “Yeah, you're weird.”

Zoro sheathed his swords now he'd calmed down. “You fight pretty damn good and I'd love to challenge you again.”

Sanji looked surprised at the praise but smirks back at him. “It's been a while since I met someone I didn't have to hold back around. Hey, it's been a blast Wonder-Boy but I should really get going.”

“Why not come with us?” Zoro gestured to Choppersus. Chopper huffed and turned his face away from Sanji.

“No offence but I don't think your bird likes me very much. I'll walk.”

“I'm not a bird, you bastard; I'm a reindeer!” Chopper yelled at him.

“Gezundheit,” Sanji commented. He had to double-take and backed away quickly. “Holy shit! He fucking talked!”

“You argue with a snake but sure a talking reindeer is strange,” Chopper replied sardonically. He trotted away to stand behind Usopp, shooting glares at Sanji.

“Yeah… I'll walk. Thanks for the offer anyway, Wonder-Boy,” Sanji waved over his shoulder as he sauntered off.

Zoro watched him leave with a distracted stare. Usopp was about to command Zoro to move but sighed at the look on the young hero's face.

“Really? You don't show any interest in girls but some blond guy kicks you around and you go all goo-goo eyes,” he teased.

Snapping out of his daze, he glared at Usopp. “That's not it! I've never had someone match me so well in a fight. I want to keep challenging him.”

“Yeah sure, whatever, and denial is a river in Egypt. Let's just head to the city before some other nasty creature finds us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed my retelling. As you can probably tell, I've made a few changes to how the scene plays out compared to the actual film. I might continue this but only if I feel there's people actually wanting to read this. Your thoughts are always appreciated.


	2. Somewhere I Belong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out a little bit more about our 'damsel in distress' in this chapter and I've finally made my mind up on who to cast as Hades. Also another Strawhat makes an appearance. Expect plenty of terrible fourth wall breaks and references. No, I won't apologise for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages since I posted the first chapter and whilst I don't want to discourage you from reading my fic, I'll expect it'll be a while before the next update too. Motivation is scarce these days. I have everything planned out now though at least.

Sanji watched as the green haired would-be hero flew away on his strange winged reindeer. He waited a while for them to be out of sight before reaching to his neck. The muscle ached where the fang had punched into his shoulder. If he had to guess, the venom was still in his body.

“Just fucking wonderful,” he cursed under his breath.

He turned his attention to the body of the serpent.

“Oh boy… I'm in a lot of trouble now.”

He wandered over to the corpse, crouched beside it and ran his hand over the smooth scales.

It was dead. The snapping sound he heard as Zorocles headbutted it must have been the spine breaking. It was dead before it hit the ground.

Well there wasn't any more he could do here so he headed through the trees, out of the forest.

A sudden chill ran up his spine. He froze in place.

“Now where do you think you are going?” a masculine voice purred, feeling like it came from all around him. Unfazed, Sanji just stood up straighter.

“I'm sure you've noticed but I'll explain it to you anyway. Some bastard killed the serpent before I could finish my negotiations.” Sanji reached into his robes and pulled out a cigarette. “Would you be a darling and light this for me?”

From the gloom, the source of the voice appeared. The figure was pale, with an otherworldly glow to their skin. They wore dark robes and their eyes were hidden behind a pair of oddly shaped sunglasses. Stranger still was the yellow fire burning atop their head in lieu of hair and the indistinct border of where the robes met the floor, how it seemed to curl around like smoke.

“Now why should I do that?”

“No reason. I'm just asking. Besides, you already own my soul. What else is there to lose?”

The being reached forward and snapped their fingers, causing a small flame to ignite the end of Sanji's cigarette. Gratefully, Sanji inhaled the smoke into his lung.

“Who killed the serpent, Sanji? You didn't lose your temper again, did you?”

Sanji snorted. “Not this time. It was some country boy, green hair and more muscles than sense. Goes by the name of Zorocles.”

“WHAT!?” the being screeched. Sanji only had a moment to duck before flames burst over his head and levelling the forest around him to about waist height. A bit shaken, Sanji looked around at the destruction.

“I take it you're familiar with him, Doflamingo?” Sanji hedged.

“Familiar with him? Oh yes, I had my minions take care of him a long time ago but it seems if you want something doing it's better to do it myself,” Doflamingo ranted.

Sanji edged away as the flames on Doflamingo's head spread to his shoulders. It was a sure sign of how pissed off he was becoming. Unaware of Sanji's wariness, Doflamingo rounded up to him, settling his hands on Sanji's shoulders and leaning close to his ear. Sanji held his breath, closing his eyes tightly.

“Tell me Sanji, did he seem… godly?” The words ghosted over his ear, making him shudder.

“He's strong, I'll give him that. But aside from that and the hair, he looked pretty normal. I've never had someone block my attacks so well. It's been a long time since I could cut loose like that,” Sanji rambled, curling his hands into fists at his sides.

Doflamingo drifted out of his personal space and Sanji instantly relaxed.

“He's mortal, eh?” Doflamingo mused.

“As far as I can tell, yeah.” Sanji eyed Doflamingo with suspicion. “If he's as strong as me, it's not going to be easy to be rid of him, you know?”

“Oh I know that but he can't win forever. You certainly didn't.”

Sanji whirled to face him, advancing on the being with murder in his eyes. Not even battling an eye, Doflamingo let Sanji get up in his face, even allowing the shorter man to grab him by the robe.

“I hope you're not about to attack me Sanji. You remember how well that well that went last time, don't you.”

With no small amount of confidence, Doflamingo snapped his fingers and the smoke that curled around by Sanji's ankles became more solid and two wisps latched onto his wrists. In an instant the anger dropped from Sanji's face and was replaced by wide-eyed dread.

“No-no-no, please don't-” Sanji pleaded, “I was only thinking about it.” He winced as his hands were pulled away from Doflamingo.

“What use is thinking about it when you don't have the power to do it?” Doflamingo reached to touch Sanji's face. Sanji flinches and closes his eyes. He tried to struggle away but the cold press of fingers caught his jaw anyway. “Don't forget, you're my puppet.”

“…Yes my lord Hades,” Sanji whimpered, dropping his head and giving up.

Doflamingo released him with a wave of his hands.”I did well in choosing someone like you. You never disappoint me. Well except on the occasion where you do but it's all water under the bridge.”

“Someone like me?”

“Either you know or you don't: I don't particularly care to enlighten you,” he replied. “Come now, we've been here too long.” Doflamingo beckoned for Sanji to follow. With some hesitation, Sanji followed him back to the Underworld.

 

* * *

If he wasn't currently aiming to be a professional hero, Zorocles imagined he'd happily be punching the next person to bump into him square in the face. It was times like these that he actually missed the quiet of the countryside and his adoptive parents' farm. Sure the city was big but there were so many people around that there was an itching under his skin, a general sense of discomfort.

He trudged onward with a face of thunder beside Usopptetes and Choppersus when he was roughly bumped into by a small hooded figure. He span around with an insult on his lips but it died before fruition as the hooded figure whipped open her cape.

“Wanna buy a compass?” she said in a seedy purr.

Zoro couldn't decide for the life of him where to look, torn between the glimmering gold of the compasses, her bare midriff or her scheming smirk. He was utterly taken aback. It was after a brief moment of no response that Usopp decided to step in on his behalf.

“Hey, that'll be a great idea, if you knew how to use one! Come on kid, we don't have all day,” Usopp tugs at his wrist to keep him moving before looking back at the woman with the compasses. “Look, even if you had one with GPS, he'd still get lost.”

She looks a bit put out by this, twirling some of her vibrant red hair around her finger. Her eyes glimmer as an idea comes to her.

“I've got sundials as well,” this time she aimed it at Usopp, giving him a winning smile.

“You're a beautiful lady Miss…”

“Nami,” she supplied.

“-Nami, but we've got a job to do.”

“Oh?” She looks interested as she ties her cloak back up, cocking a hip.

“This lug here is a rookie hero, gotta find him something to do.”

“Sounds like you need a PR manager. I think I know someone.”

“'PR manager'?” Zoro asked.

“Public Relations,” Usopp clarified before turning his attention back to her. “Thanks but no thanks, this isn't my first time around at this. What I need is an early retirement.”

“Should you change your mind, you can find me here most days. Besides, this oaf owes me for the compass he scratched,” Nami said in a lilting voice.

“What the hell? I didn't scratch anything! _You're_ the idiot that barged into me,” Zoro snarled at her.

“Oh yes you did! You wanna make me double what you owe me? These compasses are handmade and unique.”

“Of course they're handmade, I don't think the industrial revolution is due for another few centuries yet. Whatever, I don't owe you shit.” Zoro stormed off, dragging Usopp by the nose. Chopper trotted after them.

“Hey watch it! Why is it always the nose?” Usopp whined.

“If you didn't get distracted by every woman that reminds you of Kaya we wouldn't be in this mess.”

“First of all, you were pretty distracted by her too. Secondly, she's nothing like Kaya!”

“Oh yeah? Take a look around you at all the beautiful ladies.”

Confused, Usopp hesitantly did as he was told.

“Okay, now what do they all have in common?”

“Uh…” Usopp didn't get it.

“They have the same body type just like every damned pretty woman in One Piece.”

“…That's a good point…”

Zoro groaned and stomped ahead down the street. “We're not being taken seriously. How am I meant to prove myself as a true hero?”

“You'll get your shot,” Usopp said uncertainly.

“No I _might_ get my shot. I don't like it that rejoining my father is relying so much on chance. I've gotta put myself out there to make a difference.”

“What happened to getting an optimistic protagonist? You're not meant to have doubts until Chapter Four!”

“That's what you get when you put a realist in that kind of position,” Chopper suggested thoughtfully.

“You would have been a much cuter Hercules.”

“That doesn't make me happy you bastard!” Chopper practically swooned at the praise.

“On reflection…” Usopp gave him a withering look “Why did I get stuck with you guys again?”

“Bite me,” Zorocles rolled his eye. “You're the one with the dream of training the greatest hero and I'm your one last hope.”

“Well if you think you can go the distance, you'd better prove it. Are you even the son of Zeus?”

“Hey I'm not lying, it's the gospel truth!”

“Sorry man. So why are you doing this?” Usopp said more gently.

“I just wanna find somewhere I belong.” Zoro's hand strayed to touch the medallion on his belt. “If I can go back to my father, find out where I came from, maybe I'll find the answer.”

Usopp's face softened and he gently punched Zoro's arm. “I'm sorry kid, let's head further in town, maybe we'll come across something useful.”

Returning the smile, Zoro ruffled Usopp's hair before lifting him up onto Chopper's back.

 

* * *

Meanwhile in the underworld, Sanji lurked in a shadowed doorway to watch Doflamingo's fit of rage from a safer distance. Not one for overlooking a good cliché, Doflamingo stormed over to his strange chessboard plucking the serpent figure off it and melting it to a ball of molten sludge in his hand. He rounded on two of his minions, throwing the deformed figure at them. They only just managed to duck out of the way, trembling in fear.

Sanji felt a faint pang of sympathy for them but it soon vanished. These creatures were only manifestations of the power of Hades. Two unfortunate souls who, like him, had to do his bidding. Though Sanji wasn't so sure if he'll end up like one of them eventually or if they weren't human to begin with.

“I thought I told you to kill the brat!” he screeched at them. His fiery hair was creeping down his shoulders again.

“We're sorry sir! He knocked the bottle away and we thought he drank all of it. There were humans heading to the temple and couldn't hide him in time before they took him,” one of them wailed, the unwilling spokesperson for the two of them.

“And you didn't tell me this, _why?_ ”

“We thought he'd die soon. We're sorry my lord, so sorry!”

Doflamingo glared at them a moment before standing tall, the fire on his shoulders retreating back to his head as he collected himself. Grey fingers rubbed at the bridge of his nose, shifting the glasses up and down . “We can work with this. If this Zorocles is mortal then we can kill him another way. He can't have drank the last drop. Fortunately I've plenty of monsters to throw at him, thanks to Sanji here.” He gestured to where Sanji thought he was concealed in the doorway.

Sanji stepped out of the archway with a sigh. “It's not going to work,” he deadpanned, “most of those guys I beat into submission myself. Wonder-boy is easily a good match against me.”

Doflamingo eyed him, a thoughtful look on his face. “Well, I can always pit you against him, if you're so sure.”

Panic rose in him, Sanji looked at Doflamingo, hoping like hell that his fear didn't show on his face. “…I wouldn't be able to finish the job,” he admitted in a very carefully neutral voice.

“You're right but I can still use you. We just need to find out what his weakness is and you can help me with that,” he purred, pulling Sanji close to his side with a hand on his hip, “or can't you even handle that? What use are you to me alive if you can't do what I want?”

The urge to peel off his own skin was so sudden and violent but Sanji couldn't even move as Doflamingo's breath fanned the hair over his ear. It was all he could do not to cry as he answered him.

“I'll find out for you, my lord.”

“Good, I was beginning to think you had a soft spot for him.” Doflamingo released him. “Back to Earth with you. I'm going to set up a trap for him and you will lead him straight to it."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, please let me know what you think of the chapter. I don't bite. The worst part about me is my shitty sense of humour. Also feel free to bug me on my tumblr: lookingforshittymarimo


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